There have been many reports on the method for producing an alcohol by hydrogenating a lactone or a carboxylic acid ester, with various catalysts and reaction modes. Patent Documents 1 to 3 and Non-Patent Document 1 describe hydrogenation reactions of lactones and carboxylic acid esters in fixed bed or liquid phase suspension systems. Patent Documents 4 to 6 and Non-Patent Documents 2 and 3 describe hydrogenation reactions of esters in the liquid phase, using ruthenium complexes that are formed from a ruthenium compound and an organic phosphine compound. Furthermore, methods for producing optically active alcohols by hydrogenating optically active carboxylic acids, are described in Patent Documents 7 and 8, and Non-patent Document 4.    Patent Document 1: JP-A No. 51-8203    Patent Document 2: DE3217429A1    Patent Document 3: JP-A No. 58-216131    Patent Document 4: JP-A No. 2001-247499    Patent Document 5: JP-A No. 2004-300131    Patent Document 6: JP-W No. 2005-524704    Patent Document 7: JP-W No. 2002-501817    Patent Document 8: JP-W No. 2002-501935    Patent Document 9: WO2006/106483    Patent Document 10: WO2006/106484    Non-Patent Document 1: Org. React., 1954, 8, 1    Non-Patent Document 2: J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun., 1980,    Non-Patent Document 3: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2006, 45, 1113    Non-Patent Document 4: Adv. Synth. Cat., 2001, 343, 802